Iranian journalists and editors working for various news publications in Iran
have strongly criticized the government's decision to grant what has been
described as uncensored internet access exclusively to 100 "approved" members of
their profession.

"This is blatant discrimination against journalists themselves and against
people and journalists," the cultural affairs editor of a monthly magazine in
Tehran told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on April 6, 2018.

"It's true that favors and favoritism are part of Iranian society these days,
but to expand that to fast internet is a new precedent," added the journalist,
who requested anonymity for fear of state reprisals.

Iran maintains one of the world's strictest
internet censorship regimes, with millions of websites and social media
platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube blocked throughout the country.

Official media outlets are also heavily censored and outlets that publish
reports contrary to the state line have been shuttered
and banned.

The April 2018 announcement that 100 journalists vetted by the Ministry of
Culture and Islamic Guidance, which operates under President Hassan Rouhani,
would be approved for the internet access, has been criticized for endangering
journalistic independence and exposing journalists to increased state
surveillance.

Several Iranian journalists protested against the decision on Twitter with the
hashtag "I'm
not interested" #من_نیستیم to announce that they would not apply for the
access.

"Part of the reason why some journalists are joining the 'I'm not interested'
campaign is basically because giving one group something that belongs to
everyone is called discrimination," tweeted the
editor of the cinema-focused newspaper, Khosrow Naghibi, on April 5, 2018.

"Free access to the internet is a right, not a favor," he added.

Mohammad Mosaed, a reporter for the reformist Sharg newspaper, also criticized
the policy's discriminatory nature.

"...Personally I believe that this plan is an insult to journalists and the people
and I will not use it," he tweeted on
April 5.

"We must once again repeat [former Iranian wrestling chief] Rasoul
Khadem's golden words that: If we are going to lose, let's all lose together,"
he added.

Unclear Benefits For Heightened Personal Security Risks

On April 4, the Media Affairs Division of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic
Guidance announced on
its website that the Taskforce to Determine Instances of Criminal Content, which
is in charge of identifying and blocking "criminal" content, had approved the
division's request to offer uncensored internet access to 100 journalists
approved by the ministry.

The ministry announced on its website that journalists could apply by April 20
by providing their identification papers, the name of their employer, and their
mobile phone number so that they could be introduced to the Information and
Communications Technology Ministry after the "verification of their identity and
confirmation of professional activity."

But it wasn't immediately clear how applicants could provide this information.
The ministry also failed to clarify whether journalists would be provided
uncensored access to online news sites or the entire internet including apps and
online services.

"If uncensored internet is necessary for the journalism profession, it's
necessary for all journalists," a veteran journalist based in Tehran told CHRI.
"It's not clear why it's only necessary for 100 of them."

"If it's necessary for journalists, it means it's also necessary for doctors.
It's also necessary for teachers. It's also necessary for students," added the
journalist who requested anonymity for security reasons.

On April 7, the reformist Ebtekar newspaper published a report echoing
journalists' privacy and security concerns about gaining uncensored access to
the internet via the state as opposed to accessing censored sites with the use
of circumvention tools, such as private virtual networks (VPNs) that allow users
to hide their locations and identities.

"To the same extent that we don't trust domestic messaging networks, we also
don't trust the guidance ministry and the government to give us uncensored
internet," a journalist named Zahra told the paper.

She added: "Even ordinary people have an issue with domestic messengers and
don't have much trust in them, so if someone is in the journalism profession
with a lot more complicated issues and connections than other people and has no
job security, she/he will certainly not use an internet line that can be easily
monitored."

The serious security flaws of Iranian-made domestic messengers in Iran have been
in the limelight since a high-level official recently suggested that
the country's most widely used app, the foreign-made Telegram, would soon be
blocked in Iran.

"The Real Target is Freedom of the Press"

Statements by Iranian officials that they-unlike the vast majority of the
population-can freely browse the internet have garnered growing criticism over
the years for the unofficial policy's discriminatory nature.

"As minister of telecommunications, I have the authority to go online without
them, so I don't use filter-breakers [circumvention tools]," said Telecommunications
Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi on September 13, 2017.

The decision to grant uncensored internet to a limited number of non-state
officials could be a response to that criticism. But some journalists have
pointed out that it's part of a bigger plan to force them to comply with
policies and rules set by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance or not be
granted a journalism license.

The requirement to obtain a journalism license-currently journalists can work
without one-is outlined in the Rouhani government's General
Media Organization Bill, which remains in limbo despite being submitted to
Parliament during his first term (2013-2017).

"Tragedy is on its way," tweeted Mira
Ghorbanifar, the deputy editor of the reformist Ghanoon newspaper, on April 5.

"This is an effort to encourage journalists to sign up and successfully
implement the media bill and introduce journalism licenses," she added. "The
internet is an excuse; the real target is freedom of the press."

Fateme Karimkhan, a reporter for the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency,
described the uncensored internet access offer as a bribe.

"Giving un-filtered internet to journalists is favoritism and hush money," she tweeted on
April 4.

"Our blood does not have a different color than the rest of the people," she
added. "Free access to information and the internet is a human right and
filtering it is a violation of that right. Personally I will not accept the
favor of un-filtered internet for journalists."